Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6839810 | Contemporary Educational Psychology | 2016 | 10 Pages |
Abstract
Teacher judgments in terms of grades, proficiency assessments, and recommending placement in ability groups can have important consequences for a child's future educational path. Whether or not students' sociodemographic background characteristics are systematically related to teacher judgments has been a controversial topic of discussion. Using data from the TIMSS-Transition Study (Nâ=â3285 fourth graders) administered across 13 German federal states in the 2006-2007 school year and survey data from parents and teachers, we investigated whether or not the average classroom socioeconomic status is reflected in teacher judgments and also examined possible underlying processes. We also probed the role of teachers' own socioeconomic backgrounds (at the age of 16) in their later susceptibility to differentially judge students from different socioeconomic backgrounds and in differentially composed classrooms. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that, after controlling for differences in achievement (as indicated by standardized tests), teachers' judgments were associated with the classrooms' socioeconomic composition, and this finding could not be attributed to the average levels of motivation or behavior in the classroom. Teachers were similarly likely to exhibit such differential judgments regardless of their own socioeconomic background. These findings are discussed in the context of their implications for educational policy.
Related Topics
Social Sciences and Humanities
Psychology
Applied Psychology
Authors
Andrea Westphal, Michael Becker, Miriam Vock, Kai Maaz, Marko Neumann, Nele McElvany,